Abstract: BACKGROUND: The treatment of lumbar tuberculosis mainly includes conservative and surgical treatments. Patients who present with obvious bone destruction and neurological symptoms need surgical treatment. Bone graft fusion combined with pedicle screw internal fixation is one of the main surgical methods.  
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect and safety of a novel slidable pedicle screw-rod system in the treatment of lumbar tuberculosis.
METHODS:  Data of eighteen patients with lumbar tuberculosis who underwent lumbar fusion using the novel slidable pedicle screw-rod system at the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from November 2017 to November 2019 were collected. There were 11 males and 7 females, aged 37-71 years by average 55.2 years. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association score, Visual Analogue Scale score and American Spinal Injuries Association grading were used to assess the recovery of lumbar function after treatment, while X-ray and CT were used to evaluate the fusion situation and the height variation of the fused segment.  
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:  (1) All the 18 patients were successfully followed up for 6-18 months. (2) The Visual Analogue Scale score dropped significantly at 3 and 6 months postoperatively, while the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was increased significantly (P < 0.05). (3) Imaging results revealed that the height of the fused segment decreased postoperatively, and became stabilized about 6 months after operation; however, there were no neurologic symptoms and no nail stick falling or fracture. (4) To conclude, the novel slidable pedicle screw-rod system can provide a satisfactory outcome in the treatment of lumbar tuberculosis and promote the decompression segment fusion effectively.

Key words: lumbar tuberculosis, spinal fusion, slidable pedicle screw-rod system, internal fixation, bone graft fusion